The East · Books · Observations

Review of Han Kang’s novel “The Vegetarian” and the heroine’s Mongolian spot

Another tick in the list of Nobel laureates' books read. Russian-speaking readers could already make the acquaintance of the South Korean writer Han Kang a few years ago: two novels by this year's Nobel laureate have been published in Russia, "The Vegetarian" and "

Art · Madrid · Monarchies · Observations

Goya's portrait of Queen Maria Luisa of Parma in the Royal Palace of Madrid

Queen María Luisa of Parma of Spain, portrayed in this picture in court dress and an oriental headdress, was extremely pleased with Goya's work. She even praised him in her letters. She came to the studio tirelessly to admire how the portrait was progressing. When he finished, the

Archive · Museums · Observations · Paris · Pop Culture

The Galerie Dior presents a retrospective of the iconic suit, with the Bar jacket from the 1947 collection, for which Christian Dior changed the shape of the mannequin for the first time, achieving a feminine silhouette that became one of the most recogni

The Bar jacket has appeared in every Dior collection, but on this occasion the House's archive invites us to see how the garment changed under successive creative directors: Yves Saint Laurent's Sultan dress of 1958, Marc Bohan's white dress with a black hat of

NB! · Books · Observations

Autumn is essentially the same goddess as spring; she has simply come to collect her flowers

NB! · Archive · Books · Humour

A Dictionary of Ailments

A Dictionary of Ailments. R: Rapture

Painting of two men in straw hats, white shirts and blue trousers rowing an ochre boat on turquoise water. The nearer rower leans forward. The canvas is in a gold frame.

NB!

Two rowers in straw hats in a boat on green water, painting in a gilded frame

Art · Museums · Paris · People

Musée d'Orsay opens exhibition on Gustave Caillebotte and his collection of Impressionists

I try to write honestly and to be worthy of having my pictures hung in the hallway of a house where Cézanne and Renoir will hang. Renoir called Gustave Caillebotte the Joan of Arc of painting: the scion of a wealthy family, an engineer who gave himself to art without

NB! · Art · Books · Rome

A beautiful engraving by Cornelis Claesz Duyssend, showing Romulus and Remus vying for the milk of the she-wolf, on the title page of one of the best-known books on the history of Rome, a concise account of events from the foundation of the city to the da

Faith · Art · People

Leonardo da Vinci's Saint John the Baptist of 1513 and his pupil Salai's version

Here are two St John the Baptists. One is by Leonardo da Vinci, 1513; the other is by his pupil Salai. According to a popular legend, da Vinci painted John the Baptist from his favourite apprentice, nicknamed Salai. Salai's features, however, are also detected in other works by

Archive · Books · London

A critical remark on Sologub, his comparison to Poe and madness in Russian prose

A review of the Russian Symbolists in the British weekly The New Age, mid-1910s:. We are never quite sure whether Russian prose writers write about Russia as it is or as they would like to see it; in either case, Russia appears to be a very gloomy place. Everyone

Sepia photograph of an elderly man in round thin-framed glasses looking downward.

Archive · Faith · Books · Observations · Humour

Excerpt from Joseph Brodsky's notebook dating from 1970

The Last Judgement is the Last Judgement, but a man who has lived his life in Russia ought by rights to be admitted to paradise without further ado. From Joseph Brodsky's notebook, 1970

A wooden writing slope in a museum case, with letters, envelopes, an inkwell, a quill and a penknife.

NB! · Books · Museums · Observations

Charlotte Brontë's writing desk with the quills and penknife she used

Charlotte Brontë's writing desk, with a penknife. For the most part she wrote with genuine quills, although the fountain pen had already been invented and was in active use.

Alexandr Radayev